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Most Extreme: Climate Change

Climate Change

There is a cartoon in a website that shows a European browsing on the computer and bundled up in thick clothing while on the flip side, there is a South American who is sweltering while browsing on the computer. Times are really changing and so is the world's climate because all over the globe, people are experiencing weird weather and extreme temperatures. Climate change is upon the planet and it seems that it is hopeless to stop it.

So what is climate change? Climate change refers to the lasting and significant change in the weather patterns over the last decades. It also refers to the change in average weather conditions in a specific region or across the globe. In the strictest sense, it refers to the change in the statistical properties of the Earth's climate system over long periods of time and fluctuations in the Earth's weather pattern, such as El Nio and La Nia are not considered. Nowadays, climate change has been used in connection with global warming and is one of the effects that has happened due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the planet.

So what are the causes of climate change? According to scientific experts, climate change can result from natural factors, natural processes, and human activities. Natural factors include the changes in the planet's orbit around the sun and the changes in the sun's intensity. Natural processes refer to the naturally-occurring processes in the climate system such as changes in ocean circulation. Human activities include deforestation, desertification, burning of fossil fuels, and other activities that can change the atmosphere's composition. It has been reported that human activities contribute largely to this phenomenon and that the changes that are happening right now are irreversible.

So what are impacts of climate change? The evidences of climate change are plenty and everyone on the planet is affected with it, one way or another. One evidence of this is apparent in the glaciers. Glaciers are a great indicator that there is indeed climate change. Over the years, the number of glaciers on earth have dwindled and more and more are melting and disappearing altogether. Glaciers are not the only thing that is slowly melting and disappearing as this is also happening in the loss of ice in the Arctic. It has been reported that there has been significant loss and change in both thickness and size of Arctic ice and it is continuing to decline at a rate of 11.5% per decade. Another indicator of climate change is seen in the world's vegetation. Over the years, the increasing temperatures lead to early flowering and fruiting, and fall and winter comes much more later in the year. This affects the plants as well as the animals who are dependent on these plants. Some plants may be subjected to stress which will eventually lead to their death and extinction; the same goes with other animals.

So to climate change skeptics and to people who do not believe that it is happening, here is proof that it is indeed happening and something must be done about it before it is too late.